Redeemed
The redeemed are a race of fiendish people in the World of Shaston. Lore and History Simply put, a redeemed is a demon or devil who decides to no longer be evil. To many, including the demons and devils themselves, the very concept seems contradictory, as fiends are supposed to be explicitly evil in nature, incapable of choosing to do anything good without some ulterior motive. This is technically correct, but yet the redeemed exist, leading to the theory that they are their own separate race, physiologically distinct from their demonic or devilish brethren. It is unknown whether such a creature is born a redeemed, carrying this distinction since their very creation, or if they become a redeemed upon using their god-given free will to choose good, fundamentally altering their very selves with such a simple choice. In theory, the redeemed have existed for as long as the demons and devils have; that is to say since time immemorial, possibly the very beginning of time. However, most redeemed choose to remain in their original home, the Abyss or the Nine Hells, hiding from their fellows and avoiding revealing their secret for fear of banishment or, both worse and more likely, death. On occasion, a redeemed may earn some authority among the demons or devils, and may use this power to subtly do good in the mortal world: for example, striking bargains or making contracts with desperate people that do not place the mortal's soul at risk. In recent history, some redeemed with the ability to magically disguise themselves have made their way to the mortal plane, hoping to escape their homeworld and do some more direct good in the world. Many of these redeemed become adventurers, knowing that in doing so they will be able to both do good and more easily explain away some of their odder features and traits. Traits and Statistics Ability Score Increase Your Strength and Charisma scores both increase by 1. Age Originating from fiends, redeemed live extremely long natural lives, often dying not of illness or frailty but of wounds and other intentional methods. Alignment Redeemed are typically lawful or chaotic, depending on their fiendish origin. While their ideas about morality can vary slightly, they are never evil, as they have overcome this very thing that made them fiendish to begin with. Size While redeemed can vary in appearance, they typically are size Medium, as they usually overcome their nature before becoming too large or strong. Speed Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision Thanks to your original home in the darkness of the Abyss or the Nine Hells, you have grown accustomed to low lighting. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. Disguise You can cast the alter self spell at will. When you cast this spell using this trait, you may only make use of the change appearance option of the spell, and you may only use it to alter your appearance to that of a specific form – in other words, once you use this spell, you may only use subsequent castings with this feature to return to the same form. The spell also lasts indefinitely as long as you maintain concentration. Fiendish Your type is fiend. You are considered a fiend in regard to spells and features that effect fiends. While you have overcome your nature and become a fundamentally different creature, enough of your original form remains that you are affected differently by certain actions. Fiendish Resistance You have resistance to poison damage, as well as to fire or cold damage, your choice. Languages You can speak, read, and write Common. Subrace Redeemed come from two fiendish origins, and thus have two different subraces: demonic and devilish. Demonic Originating from the eternally chaotic Abyss, demonic redeemed embody destruction and strength. Ability Score Increase Your Strength score increases by 1 again. Brutal Strength You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. In addition, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you may choose to deal max damage on the attack and change the type of damage dealt to magical fire or cold – matching your resistance. You can use this trait only once per combat. Fearsome You are proficient in the Intimidation skill. Abyssal You can speak, read, and write Abyssal, the language of demons. Devilish Originating from the lawful circles of the Nine Hells, devilish redeemed embody order and craftiness. Ability Score Increase Your Charisma score increases by 1 again. Crafty You are proficient in the Persuasion skill. In addition, you have advantage on all Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to establish an agreement with another creature. Infernal Magic You gain the ability to cast the fire bolt or ray of frost cantrips; this should match the resistance you chose before. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. In addition, when you cast a spell that deals either fire or cold damage – again matching your resistance – you may roll an additional die for the damage; you can use this aspect of this trait only once per combat. Infernal You can speak, read, and write Infernal, the language of devils. Notable Redeemed * Redacted - Devilish - NPC in Rebellion Redemption Trivia * The redeemed were inspired by the concept of an "ascended demon ;" that is, a fundamental evil creature or character who overcomes their evil nature in order to become good. ** The redeemed were also created in order to explain Redacted, who was meant to embody this trope. * The redeemed were the third homebrew race created for the World of Shaston, after the unliving and the corvir. * No one has yet to play a redeemed.